Chosen as His Children

CHOSEN AS HIS CHILDREN(Born Again)

He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

— 1 Peter 1:3

Chosen by the Father’s mercy,Set apart to serve His Son,Sanctified by His own Spirit—Praise the Holy Three in One!Saved by resurrection power, Shielded in His faithful love;Now, no enemy can tarnishMy inheritance above!

I’m Born again! I’m God’s own chosen child of mercy! Born again! What love and grace!Father, keep me walking worthy’Til I look upon Your face.

Led by wisdom into suff'ring,Grieved by many trials below,Yet rejoicing in His purpose,That my faith as gold may glow.Granted faith for overcoming,Filled with love for Christ unseen;Even angels cannot fathomWhat salvation God will bring!

Fixed upon this hope completely,As obedient children fear;For the Holy One who called youPurchased you with blood so dear.Born anew from seed eternal,By His lovingkindness spurred,Lay aside all tasteless yearnings—Crave the true and living Word!

Built on Christ, the sure foundation,We are free from guilt and shame;He is fitting us togetherAs a house to praise His name!We are chosen as God’s people, Called from darkness into light;O what mercy now entreats usTo proclaim His glories bright!

Background

"Chosen as His Children" was born out of my personal study through the Epistle of 1 Peter. I found that a thread ran through and connected chapter 1 and the first part of chapter 2 — words like "born" (1:3, 23), "inheritance" (1:4), "children" (1:14), "Father" (1:17), and "infants" (2:2) clued me in to the familial tone of the section. Peter intends this kind of language to strengthen and encourage an audience going through some kind of harassment or persecution because of their faith in Christ. Lest they falter in their distress, Peter reminds them that God has not forgotten them. How could he forget his children — his chosen ones? God is using their trials to a glorious, refining, and redeeming purpose! Even the concept of God's sovereign election (which cannot be ignored in the text — see 1:1-3, 15; 2:4, 9) is meant to be a comfort and a bedrock for their faith.

As I began to see these connecting threads, the verses seemed to arrange themselves into poetry and meter in my mind. I can hardly take credit for text of this song — essentially a paraphrase of the Scriptures. The title "Chosen as His Children" encapsulated for me the thread that I had discovered in the passage. At first, I sang the poem to the tune of an old hymn called "Satisfied," but eventually I decided to write my own tune with a more modern sound.

Once the song was finished, I titled it "Born Again," but a publisher advised me to keep the original title. So I used "Born Again" as the secondary title, since it's a little easier to remember.